69

February 2016 English Bridge

SECTION B (Questions 4-5)

CHOOSE THEIR LEAD

It is Christmas for the declarer and he is allowed

to choose the opponents' lead!

Which lead do you pick from the West hand to

make sure South's contract makes? You can choose

any card, but note that the other cards will be

nastily placed, although on Q5 neither opponent

has a void.

Each correct lead gains you 5 marks. Choosing

the correct line of play in Q5 will gain you an extra

5 marks.

Q4

You choose the ´K lead and all your troubles

evaporate. You win with your ace and you have 12

tricks: 3 spades, 4 hearts, 3 diamonds and 2 clubs -

the ´Q being your crucial entry to dummy.

Any minor suit lead does not quite do the trick

because it will give East the ´K and you won't get to

dummy. On a heart lead West will have tJxxx and

the ´K and you can only make 11 tricks.

Q5

Trumps break 2-1 because neither player has a void.

You need a heart lead of any sort. You ruff the lead,

cross to ´A, ruff a second heart high, cross to ´K

(drawing the last trump) and then ruff a third heart.

Finally you cross to the ´Q and play your hearts

from the top along with South's two aces

Any other lead leaves you a trick (or entry) short.

The tK can be won and you can ruff a diamond,

cash ™A, throwing a club, but you need to ruff a

heart high to get back to hand to take a final club

ruff and the defence will make their ´10.

Q4 - Contract 6NT

´ Q 2

™ A K Q J

t 8 7 6 5

® 8 7 6

´ A J 3

™ -

t A K Q 10 9

® A K 10 9 5

69

February 2016 English Bridge

www.ebu.co.uk

Q5 - Contract 7´

´ A K Q

™ A 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

t 8

® 8

´ J 9 8 7 6 5 4

™ -

t A Q 4

® A J 4

N

S

N

S

Continued overleaf/. . .

MASTER SOLVER

VIDEOS

CHECK out three excellent 'Master Solver'

videos ilmed at the World Bridge Teams Championships

in Chennai by David Bakhshi

(www.youtube.com/watch?v=smde83om9dq),

Simon Cope (www.youtube.com/watch?v=

18Af_y6OHz0)

and David Gold (www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-zs2sewne).